


Strawberry Saviour

by Pootin



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Humour, inspired by Chaeyoung's TWICETV vlog, michaeng
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2019-10-15 07:04:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17524100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pootin/pseuds/Pootin
Summary: Mina’s tired, dehydrated, sweaty as hell, and she’s fairly sure she won’t survive another minute in the goddamn outdoors.But maybe it’s worth it for her saviour in dungarees.In which Mina and the gang go for a nature walk, and Chaeyoung isn’t as much of a stranger as she thinks.





	1. Strawberry Saviour

Mina huffed as the oppressive summer heat began to take its toll on her. She didn’t have to look at herself to know her plain white t-shirt was, unfortunately, absolutely drenched in sweat.

As if it couldn’t get worse, Tzuyu and Dahyun had also decided to go missing halfway through their little plan, along with the rest of the group who the three had diverged from.

This was why she didn’t interact with nature.

Mina could’ve been living it up back at home right now. She could’ve been chilling in her air conditioned apartment, playing PUBG in the comfort of her home. But no, instead she’d decided to go along with her friends’ ridiculous plan to go camping. It wasn’t like she had any choice anyways, after she’d immediately refused their oh-so kind invitation, she was met with a chorus of whines and pleas.

‘It’ll be an amazing experience Mina!’ and ‘You always spend your time indoors Mina!’. She had to admit that they were right though, she never got enough fresh air and her mum was always calling to make sure got enough daylight on her day offs. So she had foolishly thought that maybe, maybe this was a good idea.

It wasn’t.

She looked down at the map and compass in her hands. Mina didn’t know why she even bothered looking when she didn’t have a clue as to how to read maps. Looking up again she was met with the same expanse of greenery she so desperately wanted to escape.

“Have I seen those trees before?” She spoke aloud to herself whilst squinting at the bark of a oak tree. Mina wondered if she had already lost her mind.

The gang of friends had decided to set off for a walk along the hiking trail in the forest. Tzuyu and Dahyun had convinced Mina to separate from the rest of the group so she could assist them in pulling a prank on the older girls, which answered her silent queries as to why their backpacks looked massive in comparison to everyone else’s. No doubt Jihyo would be fuming when she discovers that they’re missing later on, but according to Dahyun it would be ‘totally worth it’ for the ‘epic reaction’.

She didn’t know why she trusted those two.

Out of all the girls Mina was the most directionally challenged. She wasn’t sure she had an internal compass of sorts. Hell, even Sana seemed to have an okay idea of navigating in the depth of the woods.

Mina continued trudging through leafy floor of the terrain. She felt like she’d been walking for hours but a quick glance at her watch tells her it’s only been about twenty minutes or so since she last saw her friends. She didn’t have a tendency to be dramatic, but this new terrain was pushing her to her limits.

Mina noticed that she was getting short of breath quicker now, her steps slowing down as her legs had to put more force onto the ground to keep her upright. She surveyed her surroundings, it was getting steeper. Following her instincts Mina continued her ascent up the precipitous landscape, hoping it would lead to somewhere or someone.

She took swigs of her water bottle to keep herself energised, and finally reached the top. She had to use her hands to cling onto the surrounding trees to ensure she didn’t go tumbling back down the way she came from.

She was greeted with the sight of rows upon rows of plastic tunnels in the distance, containing what she assumed to be vegetables. Mina felt a refreshing burst of energy knowing that she wasn’t going to die alone in the woods.

She instantly started towards her new destination, but was met with an obstacle.

The fence.

It was pretty tall for a fence, and there was no sight of any gates nor any stiles to help get her over said fence.

She determinedly placed a foot on the wooden fence, trying to scale it as gracefully as she could. Using every ounce of energy she had she got herself on top, precariously balanced on it.

She was so close to getting to the other side, just one more foot down and it’d be over. She could get help and pretend this day had never happened.

But instead Mina’s foot slipped, causing her left foot to catch painfully on the fence. She collapsed to the ground heavily, her backpack not doing much to break her fall. A cloud of dust surrounded her as she bit back the urge to scream an expletive.

She laid there for a few minutes, contemplating the meaning of life and all the choices she’d made that had led up to this point. Then she remembered what she’d seen not too long ago. The farm.

Mina felt adrenaline rush through her body, temporarily numbing the pain in her ankle. She stood up with vigour, and power walked towards the plastic tunnels. Gritting her teeth through the pain. She’d done ballet for years, she could handle this.

The blazing sun didn’t help as she took her baseball cap off her head to fan herself. She plopped it back on top of her head, swiping the sweat off her forehead as she did so.

Mina looked for any sign of life, but all she saw were multitudes of strawberries in neat lines encased in translucent coverings. Then she spotted a wooden hut of some sort situated in between two of the plastic tunnels. She approached it, hoping there’d be someone inside.

Fate didn’t seem to be on her side as she knocked on the door and received no response. Her body ached as she tiptoed to peer through the windows. It was empty.

Well, at least she had shade now. She pressed her back against the hut and slid down. The escape from the glaring light of the sun was heavenly.

She felt dizzy, dangerously so.

“Hey! Are you okay?” A girl’s voice cut through the incessant buzzing of the insects around her. She cracked one eyelid open. She could just about make out a figure walking towards her.

Mina’s chest was rising and falling heavily, the air felt too thick.

“Water...please…” She managed to get out, her mouth felt like cotton.

“Shit. Hold on I’ll be right back.” The figure jogged away.

Mina closed her eyes. If she succumbed to the extreme exertion in her body, would she wake up in the afterworld?

Thankfully she wouldn’t have to find out as she heard footsteps approaching her. The glowing figure pressed a cold towel to her head.

“I’ve got fresh water for you, can you sit up?”

Mina nodded, the towel helping to cool her down and bring her back to reality. She pushed herself off the ground, arms shaking slightly.

She gratefully took the glass out of the girl’s hands and sipped the water. She gulped the entire pint in one go, sighing in satisfaction after she finished. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

“Here, let me take you straight to the water pump. You look like you could do with a cool down.”

Mina pushed the pain in her leg to the back of her mind and stood up, her hands leaning against the hut for support. Her vision was still a little blurry, but she managed to stand upright without swaying and followed after the girl she’d just met. Thankfully the water pump wasn’t too far away, and she was signalled to kneel down in front of it.

She heard the metal squeak as it moved up and down, cold water erupted from the pump not too long afterwards. She cupped her hands underneath and relaxed at the feeling of the cold water. She drank some, and splashed it over her face, it refreshed her immediately.

Mina felt her senses return to her. She turned to give her deepest gratitudes to the stranger, but found her words die at the tip of her tongue. Her mouth felt dry again, despite the water she’d just drank. She looked into two curious wide eyes, the owner’s eyebrows raised in concern.

“Do you feel better?”

Mina couldn’t take her eyes off of her. “Y-yeah. Thank you so much…”

“My name’s Chaeyoung.”

“Thank you Chaeyoung. Mina I am. I mean am Mi-I’m Mina.”

“Nice to meet you Mina.” Chaeyoung smiled widely and giggled at how flustered she was, her dimple prominent in her cheek.

Mina smiled back shyly and quickly averted her eyes, turning her focus back to the water pump and cupping a handful of cool water. She splashed it over her face, it dripped down onto her shirt but she couldn’t care less how she looked.

After flicking any excess water off of her face and hands, Mina attempted to stand up. But the spike of pain that shot up through her leg stopped her, causing her to stumble back onto the ground with a groan.

Chaeyoung immediately knelt down, concern evident on her face. “Woah, is your ankle alright?”

She felt embarrassed to say it but she had no other choice, her ankle was throbbing in pain, “I kind of tripped earlier. Think I just rolled it, nothing too serious.”

Despite Mina’s claims that it wasn’t anything life threatening Chaeyoung continued to look concerned.

“Come on, let’s get you out of the sun.” Chaeyoung said after standing up and leaning down, hand outstretched, a kind smile present on her face.

Mina glanced warily at the smaller hands in front of her.

She gently placed her palm on Chaeyoung’s and allowed herself to be pulled up off the ground, she wasn’t expecting the shorter girl to move closer so suddenly. Chaeyoung took Mina’s hand and moved so she was standing next to her, lifting her arm to rest across her own broad shoulders.

Mina’s face was burning and she was pretty sure it wasn’t just because of the heat. As much as she wanted to distance herself from the not-really-a-stranger she’d just met, she couldn’t help but lean against her surprisingly strong body. She took the pressure off of her left foot, letting Chaeyoung help her hobble into the cream coloured gazebo that swayed slightly in the breeze.

There were various tables, metal benches and stacks of baskets waiting to be filled with strawberries within the large gazebo. Chaeyoung led Mina to the wooden swing bench and lowered her carefully. The older girl reluctantly let go off Chaeyoung’s shoulders as she settled on the soft pillow atop the bench.

“I’ll be back with some ice for your ankle.”

“Thank you so much for helping me out.” Mina managed to get out smoothly. She internally cheered that she didn’t stumble on her words.

“It’s no problem.” She said genuinely.

Mina laid her head back and pushed her right foot against the earth. Swaying the bench slowly as she cooled down in the blissful shade of the tent. She heard voices chattering outside, but opened her eyes to find out it was just the workers and an occasional visitor passing by.

She thought about her friends. She missed them. Then she was reminded of Nayeon’s ‘no phones allowed’ policy. She missed them a little less.

But no matter how much they got on her nerves, or forced her to partake in activities she wouldn’t consider ‘fun’, Mina wished they were at the strawberry farm with her. Momo was probably starving with the limited amount of food they were able to carry, and there was no question that Nayeon and Jeongyeon had probably already gotten into at least five arguments over how they should hold the map.

The Japanese girl traced her fingers along the grooves of the swinging bench. It seemed well loved. Not brand new at all, but worn in. She noticed an engraving on the arm rest, three cartoonish faces with writing underneath them. Time had taken its toll on the bench but Mina could just about make out what it said.

“ _School Meal Club_?” She mumbled to herself. It sounded familiar.

“What’s so interesting?”

Mina jolted at the feeling of the cold ice on her warm skin. She fake glared at a giggling Chaeyoung, before breaking into laughter herself. Chaeyoung sat down next to her, handing Mina the ice pack, who took it gratefully.

“Oh nothing, I was just thinking of my friends.”

“Were you out walking with a group?” Chaeyoung propped her forearm up on the back of the bench and rested her head against her hand.

“Yeah. We were following the trail in the forest, but I somehow managed to get lost along the way.” Mina chuckled nervously. She’d made herself look absolutely hopeless in front of Chaeyoung.

“Hey don’t worry, a lot of people go along that footpath to get to this farm. They’ll probably turn up here later.” Chaeyoung reassured her with another wide smile that Mina had quickly grown addicted to.

“Hopefully.”

A comfortable atmosphere settled. Sounds of faraway conversations and crickets cricketing endlessly filled the air.

“I guess you’re not from around here then.” Chaeyoung said eager to find out more about the Japanese girl.

“I’m the farthest thing you could get from the country. I prefer the city, no offense.”

“None taken. The farm life’s not for everyone.”

Mina hummed before adding, “That being said, city life can be suffocating sometimes.”

“I haven’t been to the city in a while.”

“You’re always welcome to stay with me.” Mina glanced at Chaeyoung and turned her head away quickly, “Seriously. I would’ve died if you hadn’t helped me.”

“Careful. I might just take you up on that offer.” Chaeyoung smirked and Mina had to resist the urge to poke her dimple.

A lull in the conversation allowed for Chaeyoung to stand up and walk over to one of the tables. She picked up a clear plastic box that was filled with deep red strawberries and brought it back to the bench.

“I have some friends visiting, they should be here soon, but I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you having a few.”

“I feel like I’m taking advantage of you here. I’ve already taken up enough of your time I can’t take your strawberries.”

“I want you to have one! Come on, at least one?” Chaeyoung pouted, the box open in her hands.

Mina turned her head down to hide her blush and picked a random one up. She bit into the strawberry, her eyes widening at the taste of it. “This is delicious!”

“I like to think we have some of the best strawberries in the world.”

“You probably have the best strawberries in the universe.”

Chaeyoung’s eyes lingered on Mina’s gummy smile. She lifted her hand and pressed her thumb to the older girl’s chin. Mina froze, her brain short circuiting at the action. The blonde rubbed at the spot and retracted her hand.

“You had some strawberry juice there.”

Mina knew for sure she was red as the strawberries in the box.

As if out of nowhere an elderly woman appeared at the entrance of the gazebo, she shouted and waved Chaeyoung over excitedly.

“Ah, they must be here! I’ll introduce them to you in a bit.” The blonde hopped off the bench and Mina found it to be the cutest action she’d ever seen someone do.

She watched the girl practically run to meet her guests, Mina could already hear several loud voices from where she was sat. Deciding that it’d be pretty awkward to sit around waiting to be introduced, she carefully stood up and made her way to the opening of the gazebo.

The group were getting noisier as she got closer to them, they sounded like a handful.

“Chaeyoung-ah!”

Mina’s head snapped up. That voice sounded irritatingly familiar.

“Oh my god, I’ve missed you guys so much!” Mina heard Chaeyoung squealing.

“We’ve missed you too! But first, we have a crisis on our hands!”

“A crisis?”

“These two idiots here have managed to somehow _lose_ a friend of ours.” A new, authoritative voice perked up.

“How do you _lose_ a person. Who is it?”

Well, Mina guessed that was her signal.

She walked out of the gazebos opening, limping ever so slightly but a majority of the pain had now gone from her ankle.

Chaeyoung noticed Mina first as she was facing towards the entrance of the gazebo, whilst the rest of the group were faced the other way, all attempting to provide an explanation for their situation.

Chaeyoung’s face lit up at the appearance of her new friend, “Oh hey Mina, is your ankle better now?”

Seven heads whipped around in perfect synchronisation.

“Wait, Mina, you know Chaeyoung?” Jeongyeon asked her, utterly confused as to how the two knew each other.

Simultaneously Dahyun said to Chaeyoung, “I didn’t know you knew Mina!”

Chaeyoung tilted her head, “You guys, uh, know each other?”

 

* * *

 

The group of girls talked animatedly amongst themselves as they follow the path back to the campsite, where they’d have to pack up their tents for their return to the city.

Each of them carried their own boxes of strawberries (Momo had three precariously balanced on top of each other) in their hands as they already started planning for Chaeyoung’s visit to the big city soon.

Everyone felt a pang of sadness when it was eventually time for them to separate. But the sorrow was soothed by promises of meeting up again. The ‘School Meal Club’ had carved an updated version of themselves into the swinging bench, with six new faces joining alongside them.

Mina remembered how Chaeyoung had slipped a piece of paper into her hands before they’d left.

“Message me? I _do_ get service out here you know.”

She smiled to herself, maybe the outdoors weren’t so bad after all.


	2. Concrete Jungle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chaeyoung decides that she'll take Mina up on that offer.

Chaeyoung felt overwhelmed.

It was so _loud_. Of course, she had been to the city before and was aware of this, she’d even lived there briefly before deciding she much rather preferred the chirping of crickets over the sputtering engines of cars.

It wasn’t just the noise, no the sheer amount of people everywhere also got to her. Chaeyoung didn’t mind the occasional crowd. She enjoyed the days when large groups of visitors came to the farm and she could lead them around confidently. In the city the crowds were different. Each person in a rush to get somewhere and do something, it all felt so lonely and isolating. 

It was like a concrete jungle. Names of roads, streets and junctions surrounded her, she couldn’t make sense of much of it. Each road led to two more with no way of navigating her way around. It was straightforward in the woods, she knew which tree marked what spot. Whether the change in leaf colour indicated she was in the right area of the forest.

She hadn't had to use the maps app on her phone in a long long time. Now it seemed she’d have to desperately rely on it to make it to her destination.

_This must’ve been how Mina felt_ , Chaeyoung thought to herself.

The traffic light turned green and she rushed to keep up with the dozens of pedestrians crossing all at once. Cars would shoot past her when she least expected them to, it didn’t help that she’d been lugging around a moderately heavy suitcase with her ever since she’d left early that morning.

Chaeyoung stepped out of the crowd’s way and stood to the side of the pavement. She looked at her phone intensely, it told her she was only five minutes away from her destination, an exclusive coffee shop that catered to the types of friends she had. 

She wore a simple white shirt tucked into a pair of cropped, tapered black trousers with matte Doc Martens completing the look. It helped her fit in with the chic fashion-forward atmosphere of the city. Chaeyoung may have been living in the countryside, but she wasn’t confined to dungarees and old t-shirts in her wardrobe. It was quite the opposite in fact, it’s just the environment had never really called for the other side of her fashion spectrum.

She hadn’t anticipated it to be quite this cold. Sure the unbearable August heat had begun to fade out as they entered September, a chilliness entering the air, but the countryside had always felt naturally warmer to her. She was a little thankful for the crowd in a way, and whilst she’d usually be weaving in and out of the mass of people surrounding her, the suitcase she laughed behind her made that impossible. 

Glancing down at her phone again she saw that she was close, thankfully. The heavy backpack was beginning to hurt her shoulders, the straps digging into her muscles. The coach journey had been uncomfortable, furthering the discomfort she felt in her back. 

Finally she saw the glass doors that led to the establishment. With one hand she pushed the heavy door open, her other arm dragging her suitcase inside. She nearly fell forwards as the door suddenly felt a lot lighter. Someone had opened it for her. After stumbling in she lifted her head to thank whoever had decided to help her out, and came face to face with none other than Myoui Mina.

Chaeyoung’s face lit up at the sight of the other woman. “Oh! Hey Mina!”

Mina smiled at the shorter woman. “It’s nice to see you again Chaeyoung.”

A shy smile crept onto Chaeyoung’s face. “Likewise.”

They stood at the entrance of the shop smiling at each other, until they were interrupted by a man who could only cough awkwardly and squeeze past the two to leave.

Both of them quickly moved out of the way, slightly embarrassed. 

“So, uh, where’s everyone else?” Chaeyoung asked, unable to see any of their friends around.

“Oh they’re upstairs, I was just ordering a drink and caught you coming in. Do you want one? It’s on me.” Mina offered with a gesture towards the menu board.

“Nah, that's alright, I might get one later.”

“Oh there’s a lift over there so you don’t have to lug your suitcase up the steps.”

Chaeyoung let out a low whistle. “Fancy.”

She entered the lift and pressed the second floor button, nodding her head along to the beat of the song playing over the speakers whilst she waited. Not too long after she’d entered the automated doors opened, and she walked out to find her friends noisily occupying a section of the room. 

“Chaeyoung!” They all shouted at her across the spacious room. She made her way over to them, feeling a lot more energised.

She hugged everyone and noticed that the group seemed to be missing two members. She was going to ask before Jihyo answered her unspoken question for her.

“The tour Momo’s dancing for added a few extra days, hopefully she should be back by tomorrow. Dahyun’s currently at some emergency presenting gig.” Jihyo explained around a mouthful of her sandwich. “You hungry?”

“I’m starving!” Chaeyoung opened up the menu on the table, looked at it for ten seconds and then proceeded to close it slowly with a traumatised look on her face. “Actually, I’m not that hungry anymore.”

“Don’t worry Chae, I’ve got it covered. Pick anything you want.” Tzuyu said whilst whipping a black card out of her pocket.

“Oh dang! Are you Chaeyoung’s sugar mama now? I want in.” Sana said excitedly.

“Who’s Chaeyoung’s sugar mama?”

Everyone turned to find Mina looking at them all with a confused expression on her face.

“Me apparently. Why Mina, would you rather take on the role?” Tzuyu spoke with her signature sly smirk on her face.

“P-What! Why would I- What do you even-” Mina spluttered out at the accusation, the glass in her hand vibrating with how hard she was grasping it.

“Save it Tzuyu, she already offered to buy me a drink.” Chaeyoung teased much to the group’s amusement. It was hilarious to see Mina flustered. She took a seat next to the farmer and drank her beverage quietly to detract attention from herself.

Jeongyeon, on the contrary, sipped her coffee loudly through a straw that went through a slit in her face mask. Her large sunglasses made it hard for anyone to tell whether she was listening or not. Not to mention the wide brimmed hat that cast a shadow across her face. Nayeon stared at her, frowning at her choice of accessories.

“You can take that off in here you know.” The elder said pointedly.

Jeongyeon slurped louder than before. “Can’t. I’m too famous.”

“I’m literally more famous than you and _I’m_ not wearing that ridiculous get up-”

“My net worth’s higher than yours.”

“What the hell? No it is _not_.” Nayeon whipped her phone out, her fingers tapping rapidly on the screen, everyone stared at her in silence. Her eyes widened slightly, she then slowly placed her phone screen down on the table. Jeongyeon continued slurping her coffee.

The oldest girl placed a hand over her mouth as she let out a dramatic cry, tears falling down her face elegantly as she sniffed two times. It was clear to see why she was so good at her job.

“Crocodile tears.” Tzuyu whispered, stone faced, her casual delivery elicited a laugh from everyone but Nayeon, who gasped dramatically instead.

“Take that _back_! I am having a _crisis_. I can’t believe this. When did this happen? Oh my god. Oh my god-”

“Please stop saying my name I’m right here.” Jihyo interjected as she carefully tried to cut around the yolk of her egg. She didn’t realise it but Sana had begun to film their conversation, Jihyo was knocked on the head by her arm as she stretched it out to get a clear view of their table.

“Hey guys! Welcome back to my daily vlog, today I’m-”

“Sana put that thing away I’m _lit-er-ally_ trying to avoid that.” Jeongyeon said but the sound of her voice was muffled by her drink’s straw, and her face mask.

“Oh shut up!” Nayeon shouted through melodramatic sobs.

“My egg you dumbass!” Jihyo cried out, staring at her now messy plate. Her eyes flashed with anger as she lunged at the camera, Sana’s most prized possession. 

“It's so nice to have the family together for dinner.” Mina said feebly, poking at the cake on her plate.

Chaeyoung laughed heartily at the commotion in front of her. She’d missed the chaotic dynamics of the group, and the addition of Mina made it even better.

They continued to eat and drink whilst joking around with each other. Chaeyoung became increasingly aware of the ticking clock counting down the time they had together, and the worrying lack of Dahyun’s presence wasn’t helping her feel any better.

“When’s Dahyun getting here by the way? I thought I’d be going to her place after this.” Chaeyoung spoke up.

The girls looked around at each other nervously, they’d been waiting for this question to come up. 

Nayeon cleared her throat. “Uh, Dahyun’s actually had to go to _Busan_ on an emergency trip, she’s had to host a programme that was according to her ‘absolutely urgent’, so basically, we’re not sure exactly when she’ll be back.”

“I can’t believe that girl.” Chaeyoung simply sighed, pressing her fingers into her forehead in exasperation. She silently cursed her friend’s demanding profession. It wasn’t her fault in any way at all, Dahyun couldn’t help the volatile nature of her job. 

“Well does anyone have a spare room?” Jihyo glanced around the group taking charge of the situation, “You could always stay with me but it’s not really that big. I probably have a mattress somewhere in the back…” Jihyo offered, but Chaeyoung didn’t want to get in her way and pile  anymore stress and problems on top of the ones she already had. 

“It’s fine, I can stay in a hotel someplace nearby.”

Immediately they all refused to let that happen. Everyone chipped in on the availability of space in their homes. The issue was mostly to do with the hectic schedules the girls all had, none of them wanted to leave Chaeyoung alone in the city. Due to Dahyun’s unfortunately timed departure, nobody else had planned for this circumstance. 

Mina listened to the discussion as she thought deeply to herself in her head.

She could...but should she? 

She looked around the table at everyone’s serious expressions, and waited for a lull in the conversation before speaking. 

“Well, Momo moved out recently so she could get a place closer to her dance studio. I’ve been looking for a flatmate but there hasn’t been anyone suitable yet, so there’s a free room at my place. If it’s okay with you.” Mina said hesitantly. She wasn’t that close to Chaeyoung, not as close as the rest of the group at least. They’d been talking for a while now ever since the camping trip, but she didn’t know how the other woman would take it. It was one thing to text with the barrier of a screen, and another to actually talk in real life.

Chaeyoung flushed at the thought. Staying in Mina’s flat, sleeping in Mina’s flat, _living_ with Mina for a few days? She didn’t want it to be awkward between them, but then again, maybe this could be what brings them closer as friends. Chaeyoung did want to get to know her more after all. 

“I’d be totally fine with it as long as you are. It is your place.”

“It’s no problem at all.”

And so it was settled, Chaeyoung would be staying with Mina until Dahyun returned.

They all parted ways with promises of seeing each other later on in the week. In the meantime group facetimes consisting of them all screaming over each other would have to suffice.

“That was an interesting café.”

“It’s well known for being the go to place for celebrities. Hence the extortionate prices.” Mina explained with a small smile, remembering Chaeyoung’s outraged expression after seeing the cost of a single drink. “Come on I’ve parked round the back.”

They walked through the back door into the car park where a scarce amount of cars were scattered around. Chaeyoung tried to guess which one belonged to Mina. 

Chaeyoung’s eyebrows nearly reached her hairline. “I don’t know much about cars, but I do know that this is _expensive_ expensive.”

She stared at the sleek black Lexus LC 500, it had matching all black rims and a carbon fibre spoiler. It was like Mina in a way. Exclusive.

Mina laughed nervously. “It was a gift from my parents. I’d never choose something this flashy for myself.”

“Why not? A pretty car for a pretty woman.” Chaeyoung said as she lightly ran her fingertips along the bonnet of the car. 

Mina tried not to laugh too maniacally as she tucked a few strands of hair behind her ears in a nervous gesture. “You don’t have to sweet talk me. I’m already letting you stay at my place.” 

The sidelights flashed as she unlocked the car, the boot opening up automatically with a press of a button. Chaeyoung carefully placed her suitcase and bag into the space and stepped back, letting the door close by itself.

She opened the passenger side door and slid into the leather seat. She sunk into the comfy, foam material that felt as comfy as her own bed. Chaeyoung admired the luxurious interior of the vehicle, feeling the quality red velvet fabric that gave the all black look a pop of colour.

Mina started the engine and began to drive out of the car park, the movement completely smooth with only the low humming of the powerful engine indicating they were still in a car and not floating above the ground.

Chaeyoung snuck a few glances at Mina as she drove. There was something wonderful about watching the other woman drive. She emanated a powerful energy that captivated all of Chaeyoung’s attention. Her eyes drifted from Mina’s side profile down her arms to her hands, and finally landed on her fingers which were adorned in a multitude of minimalist rings.

_Expensive_ was what came to mind when she saw Mina. Even if she wasn’t the owner of such a flashy looking car, she still radiated an energy of sophistication.

Chaeyoung accidently let slip a quiet ‘ _hm_ ’ that mina managed to pick up on.

“Care to tell me what’s on your mind?”

”Maybe you would make a good glucose parent.”

Mina nearly swerved the car into oncoming traffic.

 

* * *

 

They pulled up to an impressive looking high rise building, one that had well over 30 floors. It was all glass and angular architecture. The perfect reflection of a modern city’s style. Mina maneuvered the car past a gated area after scanning her keycard at a machine that opened a  barrier that led to an underground parking area. She drove into what Chaeyoung assumed was her garage and turned her car off. The engine wound down into a silence.

Chaeyoung retrieved her suitcase and bag from the boot, from there they had a short lift ride to the apartment reception.

They walked past the reception where a concierge bowed politely as the two passed, and entered an elevator that took them up to the level of Mina’s apartment.

With a little ‘ding’ the doors slid open, revealing a roomy corridor that seemed to house only a few apartments. Chaeyoung trailed behind Mina, looking around at her surroundings and taking it all in. They reached a white door which had the number ‘37’ in black metal on it. Mina swiped her keycard through a little black machine next to the handle. It unlocked the door with a barely audible ‘beep’. Mina pushed the door open and Chaeyoung had to try very hard to contain the gasp that nearly left her mouth.

The apartment was luxurious to say the least. Everything looked like it had just been built yesterday. Every surface of the place was spotless, clean to the point where it looked sterilised in a way. There was a large window in place of a wall next to the living room area, and a pair of sliding doors leading to a balcony covered in plants. The open plan layout of the apartment allowed Chaeyoung to see the kitchen which might as well have been pulled directly out of a showroom from Ikea.

There were a few photo frames hung on the walls of Mina’s family and friends.

“How do you afford to stay in a place like this?” She asked, dumbfounded. “Wait, I take that back. After seeing your car I should have expected this.”

“You could say I get a pretty little cheque from the law firm I work at.”

“You know, considering our friends’ jobs, I wouldn’t have pegged you as a lawyer.”

Mina thought about it. It was true.

Jihyo was an up and coming soloist, she’d trained hard to get to where she was. She was well known for her powerful voice and model-like features. Tzuyu was an actual model gaining a good reputation in the industry, her tall figure and stoic face caught the eyes of any person who passed her no matter where she was.

Jeongyeon and Nayeon were actresses, they’d met years ago as teenagers starting out in the field. Everyone theorised that their friendly rivalry had started then, but everyone also theorised there was something else hidden beneath the snippy comments and petty arguments.

Sana held an impressive following of over 5 million followers on her YouTube Channel. No one could say exactly how many she had collectively across all of her social media channels, as the numbers were constantly on the rise. But it was safe to say she was recognised as a person at ‘celebrity status’. Momo also had over a million followers on her Instagram account, she was a respected choreographer who’d been a backup dancer for tons of household names. Dahyun, perhaps the most outgoing of them all, was a comedian and TV presenter. Her schedule was almost always busy, but she’d always find time for her friends amidst all the chaos that occurred in their lives. 

“I could say the same for you, strawberry princess.” Mina quipped back, a fond smile on her face.

She used the name that Chaeyoung had been given by the media and fans of her friends. It was inevitable that hanging around with a bunch of high profile celebs would eventually attract attention to her. People wanted to know exactly who she was, what she did and where she lived. Sana’s camping trip vlog titled ‘VISITING A STRAWBERRY FARMER (GONE WRONG! ALMOST DIED!)’ (Mina had objected to being included in the vlog, threatening her with a lawsuit) hadn’t helped keep her on the downlow either, instead it caused her follower count on Twitter to shoot up dramatically. She’d almost had a heart attack when she saw the amount of notifications pop up on her phone. The power of the internet surely rivalled that of God’s.

On a positive note, the farm’s business had been booming, and she had Sana to thank for that.

“Look at us two huh, tagging along with the celebrities, despite being fairly normal.” 

Mina looked around at her outrageously lavish apartment somewhat critically. “Yeah. Normal.”

Chaeyoung’s eyes lingered on Mina’s expression. She wondered what was on her mind in that moment. 

The farmer had been part of the school meal club, but her ambitions had never been focused on anything that put her in the spotlight. Instead she was perfectly content to be surrounded by nothing but plants, endless spaces of greenery and the occasional wild animal for hours on end. She had always enjoyed singing. It was just that she’d rather sing to the flowers than to a cheering crowd.

Eventually her two friends had made friends in the industry, who turned out to be much like herself in many ways. They were all on the same wavelength, and she would sometimes wonder exactly how a ragtag group like them had come to become so close so quickly.

Mina had told her one evening, or texted to be more accurate, that she’d been best friends with Momo and Sana ever since they were kids. They'd been inseparable from the start, from when Sana had started posting dumb videos on YouTube for the hell of it to when Momo started gaining attention for her dance videos. The trio had left Japan together, and stuck with each other through the tough times and the good times.

“But really, how normal can we be around that lot?” Chaeyoung said in a sarcastic tone, hoping to lighten the mood of the room.

Mina’s laughter was interrupted by a stream of text notifications coming from her phone. She quickly took it out of her pocket and checked to see who it was.

-

Tofu: _Mina! Nayeon texted me abt the situation_

Tofu: _tysm for letting Chae stay w/ you and im so so sorry this happened!!_

Tofu: _I should be back in two days or so!_

Tofu: _can u tell chae super sorry from me please!!! :( i gtg now_

Tofu: _ty again! <3_

-

“Dahyun says she’ll be back in about two days and she’s super sorry. Seems you’re stuck with me for now, sorry.” Mina explained whilst shooting back a message to the busy presenter.

“Out of us three I should be the one saying sorry, I’m being a major inconvenience here.”

“You’re not an inconvenience at all. It’s actually been a little bit lonely recently.” Mina pocketed her phone and turned to shut her front door. “It’s weird though, I’d like some company so I’ve been interviewing potential flatmates, but I don’t feel comfortable with anyone who isn’t Momo.”

“Geez, maybe I _should_ leave.” Chaeyoung joked, making to grab her suitcase. Mina laughed and walked over to grab the handle, stopping her from going anywhere. She leaned down slightly and ‘booped’ Chaeyoung on the nose.

“You’re anything but a burden. Think of it this way, you’re redeeming that offer I made you, that’s all.” She smirked cheekily, and Chaeyoung thought back to that day when they’d first met. The way Mina had shyly glanced at her as she made the offer. The sunshine dancing across her face. Her fingers fiddling with her shirt.

“Now, if I may show you to your room.” Mina took the suitcase out of Chaeyoung’s hand, shaking her out of the memory, and rolled it across the wooden floors of her apartment. The shorter woman followed along behind her, furiously fanning herself with her hand to calm down, still in awe of her surroundings.

They walked into the spare bedroom, it was bare asides from the bed and oak drawers in the corner. There were a few old posters still attached to the wall, the remnants of Momo’s personality stuck to the walls. Chaeyoung walked over to the wall-to-floor window and marvelled at the view of the city. 

Mina placed the suitcase next to the bed. “Home sweet home. You can control the blinds using that button over there, and the en-suite is just through this door.” She showed Chaeyoung where everything was in the room.

“I really can’t thank you enough for this.”

“Don’t worry about it. You can unpack your stuff and use the drawers if you’d like to.”

Chaeyoung lobbed her bag onto the bed and heard the sound of glass clinking against each other coming from it. She had a sudden realisation and opened the zip.

“Oh my god! I totally forgot to give this to the others, but since you’re here, here’s yours.” Chaeyoung rifled through her bag and pulled out a mason jar filled with a red substance. She held it out to Mina who took it with a confused smile on her face.

“What’s tha- oh.” She read the little label tied delicately around the lid of the glass jar.

_**‘To Minari! I hope you enjoy it~  
** _

**_From Chaeng <3’_  
**

Underneath the message was a tiny doodle of a penguin holding a strawberry.

It was way, _way_ too cute. 

“Chaeyoung, I don’t know what to say! Thank you, honestly.”

“We can have it on toast for breakfast tomorrow.”

Mina imagined their morning together. Her frying up an English breakfast whilst Chaeyoung sat behind the kitchen’s island counter, half awake with her hair sticking up in all angles. Maybe she’d be wearing one of Mina’s oversized pyjama shirts, which would look even more oversized on the sma-

“Mina? Helloooo.”

Mina snapped back to reality with the awkward realisation she’d been stupidly grinning at Chaeyoung for god knows how long. 

“Where’s your head at?”

“I was just thinking about, uh, the holiday I’ve booked! Yeah.”

“Oh? You going anywhere nice?”

“Ah I’m not going anywhere. I just booked the next two weeks off because you were coming. I know the rest of the girls have a tough schedule, apart from maybe Sana. She just does her own thing really. But I didn’t want you feeling lonely at any point, after all it’s your break!”

Chaeyoung just looked at her with wide eyes, and Mina got a dreadful feeling at the bottom of her stomach. The horrid feeling that would crawl its way up every part of her body and settle in her brain, repeating over and over that she’s not wanted. She’s not enough.

“Unless you don’t want to of course! That’s obviously fine you don’t have to hang out with me if you don't want to, I was just presuming sorry-”

Chaeyoung cut off her rambling with a hug. It took Mina by surprise and did the trick, she immediately shut up, mostly because her brain had stopped functioning entirely. After a few seconds Chaeyoung stepped back, holding Mina’s shoulders at arms length and looking at her like she put the stars in the sky.

“Sorry I was just...taken back. By how much you cared for me, and we’ve not even been friends for that long! That’s really nice of you. Thank you.”

“No problem. Go get settled in and I’ll make us dinner.”

 

* * *

 

Chaeyoung thinks she prefers the city at night.

Although it’s always active, always bustling in one way or another, there is a semblance of peace in the late evening. A refreshing calmness that would drive her crazy if it didn’t exist. The thousands of artificial lights could never replace the natural stars in the midnight sky, but they had their own charm in a way.

She took another sip of her rosé and sighed deeply afterwards, sinking further into the comfy seat of the black wicker couch Mina is barely able to fit onto her small balcony. Her stomach was full of delicious fettuccine and quality wine. 

“As much as I am here to relax, I’ve really gotta do some work.” Chaeyoung said with a groan.

“Work?”

“The farm has thought of expanding the business further, marketing the produce in supermarkets and such. Because it’s become a well known national attraction we thought it’d be a good way to promote it.”

“If you want, I could help you out with it.” Mina says and she sounds slightly sedated. Chaeyoung figures it’s the alcohol taking effect. “My parents wanted me to study business alongside law, so I know a thing or two about how it works.”

“Seriously? I’m not too familiar with pay rates though.”

“Rates?!” Mina sounded outraged at the idea. “Come on Chaeyoung, I’m not going to charge you anything.”

“What! I can’t just take up your time, you need to be compensated for your work!”

“You can compensate me in jam and friendship.” Mina said, giggling at her eagerness.

Chaeyoung felt her heart swell at how sweet she was.

“That jam you had is actually exclusive. You should feel lucky you know. That’s premium stuff. Unreleased to the public.”

Mina raised an eyebrow at Chaeyoung, looking at her slyly over the rim of her champagne flute. “Oh, so what you’re saying is that we’re just your guinea pigs?”

“I never said-”

“Here I thought you were giving it to us out of the kindness in your heart! Maybe I should be charging you.”

“Heeeyyy come on.” Chaeyoung pouted as she gently bumped her head against Mina’s arm. “You wouldn’t do that to me would you?”

Mina looked down at her and was reminded of when cats would bump their heads against her in an act of affection. With a surge of newfound confidence she swiftly moved her hand to cup the side of Chaeyoung’s face, her thumb placed gently under the other woman’s lips. 

Chaeyoung’s breath hitched. She didn’t know what to expect but she sure as hell hoped it was the thing she’d been seeing in her dreams more and more frequently. The chilled air around them was thick with expectation and undeniable tension. The milliseconds they spent in that position seemed to stretch on for hours.

With an excruciatingly slow swipe of her fingers, Mina wiped away a spot of sauce from underneath Chaeyoung’s lips. “You had a little sauce right there.” 

Chaeyoung’s body relaxed slightly, she’d unconsciously tensed up in anticipation of something a bit more, well, intimate. 

But then Mina raised her hand to her mouth, and as slowly as she’d wiped away the sauce, licked it off her thumb. All the while a hint of a smirk played on her lips, as hooded eyes looked down upon Chaeyoung, who could only match the intense gaze with her wide longing eyes.

“Goodnight.” Mina said, the tone of her voice lower than usual. She grabbed her wine glass and made her way inside swiftly.

A squeaky ‘ _n-night’_ was the only thing Chaeyoung managed to get out before she heard the sliding door shut softly.

She covered her face with both of her hands and let out an extended, strained wheezing sound. She sat like this for a minute or so before dropping her hands onto her lap and huffing in frustration. 

She picked up her phone to distract herself, only to find a bunch of texts from Dahyun.

-

Dayhundai: _Hey Chae bae I’m sosososo sorry seriously. I will make it up to u unfortunately had no choice but to do this gig :,(_

Dayhundai: _i stg im going to get a new manager im mega mega fucking fuming!!!_

Dayhundai: _hopefully be back thursday early morning :3_

Dayhundai: _in the meantime...have fun ;)_

Dayhundai: _;);););););););) ttyl_

_-_

Chaeyoung smiled as she read through the spam of texts. Until she reached the winking emojis. Then she blushed. 

-

Cheeseyoung: _(-__-) i dont know what ur insinuating but i dont like the sound of it_

Cheeseyoung: _i can’t wait to see u again!!!..._

Cheeseyoung: _...take ur time tho ;)_

-

Chaeyoung turned her phone off and laughed breathlessly to herself, oblivious to the red-faced and highly embarrassed Mina stood in the kitchen, shocked at her own actions.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a Shrek and Captain Marvel reference in here lol
> 
> Only took me like 8 months to get another chapter out...so sorry for the delay if anyone's actually even keeping up with this! I appreciate the time put into reading my stories, and every kudos and comment left here. Thank you!

**Author's Note:**

> This is the fastest I have ever written anything ever...TWICE really got me whipped huh
> 
> Thanks for reading this fic! Another dose of michaeng fluffiness bc we can never have enough. 
> 
> If you have any time maybe give Chaeyoung's video a watch? Or perhaps give her melody project a listen? Thanks I love u guys <3
> 
> TWICETV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg3OiHpZI70 
> 
> CHAEYOUNG'S SONG: https://youtu.be/uK16TLBzWYo


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